Windows 7 Media player will not play back BluRay disc's

Definitely my top concerns for watching a movie are that I be able to watch it and hear it with satisfactory clarity.

Standard DVD clarity is satisfactory. If the clarity is beneath tolerable limits--that is, unsatisfactory--I will not watch it. But I will not refuse to watch a movie simply because I cannot watch it--or cannot afford to watch it--in Blu-ray or streamed HD. Blu-ray, or HD, is preferred, but it is not necessary. Therefore it is a secondary concern.

For me the most convenient and affordable way to watch both Blu-rays and standard DVDs is by having an account with Netflix that allows disks to be mailed to me (Blu-ray disks require a small additional monthly fee). Sometimes I have to stand in line to wait for a popular new release, but usually within a couple of months the disk is mailed. A stream-only account with Neflix (called Instant Play) is less expensive than having disks mailed, but the selection of available movies is too limited.

Streaming incurs additional expense, though on exceptional occasions I may resort to it. For example, I own nine seasons of Smallville, five in standard DVD, four in Blu-ray. After watching the last episode of Season 9, which was the first part of a two-part episode, I was too impatient to wait for part 2, which was the first episode of Season 10. So, from amazon, I paid for and streamed the first episode of Season 10. And I streamed it in HD.

I do not engage in illegal streaming.

Different people probably have different criteria, and at different times too.

Definition and audio are definitely my top concerns for a good movie experience.

Price for a good buying experience.

Being able to watch a movie regardless of the format becomes my top concern when I am discovering movies. And since Blu-ray is only a standard for a specific disc format, not for HD, I can watch HD in many different ways, like streaming from Netflix or Amazon Prime, or downloading free HD rips from the dozens of "scene release" sites. I even watch low res cams or telesync copies when the movies are not available for watching yet.

But I'd definitely "pirate" much less if I could play Blu-ray from my computer to my TV out of the box, like I can for DVDs. The Blu-ray license should apply only to hardware, not block software innovation and thus slowing down the whole roll-out of the Blu-ray technology. Oh well...

I did not mean to detract from the importance of integrating Blu-ray compatibility into Windows. That should be done.

I just mean to say that if you are having trouble affording or using Blu-ray software, it is not the end of the world. Regular DVD provides the critical thing, which is not high definition. The critical thing is the content.

By your own reasoning, Blu-ray is more important than DVD, since a Blu-ray player is compatible with both DVDs and BDs so you can access absolutely all content. And you'll be able to watch Caprica in HD too once it releases in Blu-ray.

Watching Blu-rays on laptops was not too important so far because of the small screens, but now that more and more HDTV wireless adapters are available for laptops with the second generation Intel Core processors, the lack of an integrated solution will be sorely lacking in Windows 7/8.